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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25530961">A New Purpose</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriplePirouette/pseuds/TriplePirouette'>TriplePirouette</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Quarantine, Steggy Week 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 08:22:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,248</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25530961</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriplePirouette/pseuds/TriplePirouette</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy is Steve’s rock, keeping him sturdy and sane when he finds himself filling a need in the pandemic he didn’t even know was there. Written for Tumblr’s Steggy Week 2020 Day 8: Quarantine</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Steggy Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A New Purpose</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I’m not sure where this came from, and I’m sorry? I’m sorry. I don’t KNOW that anything like this happened/is happening, but I can imagine it being a possibility.  </p><p>Insert your favorite “Peggy lives in the Future and they all live happily in Avengers Tower” headcanon either time time prior to Age of Ultron or where Infinity War/Endgame don’t happen.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Tony put the entire Tower on lockdown the day Bruce walked into his office and showed him the data coming out of Wuhan. Everyone was remanded to their own floors, with their romantic partners if applicable, and no one was eager to question it when they saw the dour look on both men’s faces. Within 36 hours the tower had been outfitted with UV lighting, new filters on the HVAC systems, sanitizing stations at every door, and the central living space had been turned into a command station.</p><p> </p><p>Most of them had thought Tony was overreacting, but did as asked and didn’t say much when Tony installed infrared temperature checking stations at the doors once Europe started reporting credible deaths.</p><p> </p><p>Steve and Peggy knew it wasn’t an overreaction.</p><p> </p><p>While the words “1918 Flu Pandemic” floated easily off the tongues of TV commentators, they gave Steve and Peggy chills. Steve had been born that year, and Peggy not much later. While they were too young to remember it themselves, they knew the stories all too well. They knew the people in their families they were never able to meet because they’d died in those years. They remembered walking past boarded up shops as kids because those businesses, or their owners, hadn’t survived.</p><p> </p><p>Any time Tony asked for volunteer to run supplies somewhere or start calling Washington offices, Peggy and Steve were the first to say yes.</p><p> </p><p>When it hit the US, when it hit New York, was when everyone started taking it seriously. By then Tony already had most of Stark Industries converted to making ventilators and masks and had moved on to help other companies figure out how to retrofit their plants (which was much harder than some politicians managed to make it sound), but there still weren’t enough supplies to go around. Bruce worked to coordinating testing, finding tubes and solvents for kits and using Stark resources to get labs more equipment. Peggy and Pepper manned the phones, calling senators and distributing and centralizing data. The rest of the team was running through out New York and New Jersey distributing supplies and organizing food banks.</p><p> </p><p>As infections got worse and hospitals began to get overrun, Tony saw that each Avenger got a consultation with the renowned Dr. Helen Cho. Peggy, Pepper, Clint and Natasha were deemed of average risk and advised to stay home or wear masks as much as possible. Peggy and Pepper stayed home, Clint and Natasha continued their efforts in masks, decontaminated every time they stepped in the tower, and stuck to their own floors. Tony was also deemed of average risk, but his suit provided extraordinary protection when he was away from the tower. He created a new sanitizing process he deemed his ‘Hot Tub Protocol’ and continued on as he had been. Thor, out west with Jane Foster, was deemed questionable, though since he couldn’t as much remember having a cold since being exposed to the Earth, Dr. Cho suggested a mask until she could run further tests.</p><p> </p><p>Steve and Bruce were deemed impervious, much to both their surprise. Dr. Cho even doubted their ability to act as a carrier with how fast their bodies managed to destroy any bacteria or virus.</p><p> </p><p>That information sent Bruce right back to his lab where he immersed himself in research on Gamma radiation and viruses.</p><p> </p><p>Steve still wore a mask when he went out, still decontaminated before he headed back to the floor he shared with only Peggy, and still worried every night what he might bring back to her.</p><p> </p><p>She’d wrap herself around him in bed, though, and speak in low, soft tones, and managed to wipe away enough worry that he could sleep at night. He was helping, he knew he was, but not nearly enough and he had a nagging feeling he should be doing something else to help.</p><p> </p><p>He figured it out by accident. It was an average delivery: drive a truck full of masks, gloves, and cleaning supplies to a hospital. Drop them off. Pose for some pictures and give everyone a pep talk. He could do those things easily and managed to do them day after day without losing too much of his own optimism.</p><p> </p><p>The building was nondescript, and the back entrance where he had to drive the truck didn’t have any signs. One teary-eyed nurse who thanked him over and over met him at the back door. When he left, he had a new goal.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>“I need your help, Peg.”</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t even say hello as he stepped onto their floor from the elevator, striding in filled with energy and purpose. Peggy looked up from her desk, nodding furiously but holding up one finger. “No, senator, <em>you</em> don’t understand. Your constituents are dying, and your support in this bill is only the tip of the iceberg. Mortgage relief, rent relief, guaranteed healthcare these-” She stopped mid sentence, pursing her lips together. “Prat hung up on me!”</p><p> </p><p>Steve met her at the desk, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “You’ll get him next time.” He kept moving to the kitchenette and poured a glass of water, which he gulped down eagerly.</p><p> </p><p>“You said you needed help?” Peggy joined him at the counter, eyes weary with long hours and a day full of similar phone calls, but eager to help him. He looked at her for a second before rounding the counter and lifting her into a tight hug, her feet leaving the floor. She squeaked in surprise, but reciprocated immediately, holding tight across his shoulders and tangling a hand in his hair. “What’s wrong, darling?”</p><p> </p><p>He set her down but didn’t let go. “They’re alone.”</p><p> </p><p>“Who, my love?” She looked up at him, and noticed the pain etched in the corners of his eyes. She reached her hand up and cradled his cheek, stroking gently with her thumb. “Who’s alone?”</p><p> </p><p>He let his overhead rest on her, the words so quiet when they slipped out. “The kids.”</p><p> </p><p>They ended up sitting on the floor, leaning against the kitchen island with hands holding tight and her in his lap as he told her about the non-descript hospital and the teary-eyed nurse. How she was the one who volunteered to pick up the supplies because then she wouldn’t be able to see her patients for two weeks, and it was her turn. Steve asked innocently about her patients, and found out he was at a children’s hospital. She told him how they were taking turns sleeping at the hospital to keep contact with the outside world a minimum for their sickest patients. How some parents had to choose between coming to visit their immune compromised child or continuing to work and be potentially exposed to the virus to be able to pay for medical bills. How they worked day and night to try to keep the kids from being lonely, all the while watching what was happening at the nursing homes and being scared to death of what would happen to their kids if even one tiny virus made it past their doors.</p><p> </p><p>Despite the tears on her cheeks, Peggy didn’t miss a beat. “You want to visit?” He nodded. She untangled herself and stood, wiping her cheeks and reaching down to pull Steve up next to her. “Right. Let’s get going, shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>Within a half hour, she and Pepper were on the phone with every children’s hospital and children’s home in New York. Within the hour, word spread of what was happening and Jarvis couldn’t keep up with the incoming calls from places all over the tri-state area.</p><p> </p><p>Within two hours, Peggy had him booked solid morning to night for the next week and Steve was on the phone with local retailers, small toy stores and electronics shops near each stop on his list, buying them out of inventory and setting up delivery instructions.</p><p> </p><p>Clint and Natasha weren’t exactly excited that night when they heard their delivery routes of PPE were going to nearly double, but once they heard why they offered to help with the deliveries of the toys, too.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Peggy paced the living room, tapping her pen on her chin. “We can provide medical evidence of safety if necessary and daily negative virus tests.” She smiled at Steve as he put his own phone down. He seemed excited, invigorated at this new purpose, and she was glad for it. “Yes, You’ll be receiving an e-mail shortly confirming verbal agreement for day and time and you can reply to that with any decontamination procedures or requests you may have.” Peggy flopped down on the couch next to Steve, “Yes, you’re very welcome.”</p><p> </p><p>Steve moved to kiss her as she put her phone down, put she pressed a finger to his lips and held him at bay a few inches away. “Jarvis?”</p><p> </p><p>The AI answered quickly, “Yes, Miss Carter?”</p><p> </p><p>Steve didn’t move and she simply smiled at him. “New outgoing voicemail message please.”</p><p> </p><p>“When you’re ready,” the voice answered.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve reached Peggy Carter at the Avengers Initiative. If you are inquiring about a visit from Captain America, please leave your name, phone number, and institutional affiliation. I will get back to you within twenty four hours. All other inquiries please press one.”</p><p> </p><p>Steve moved his lips against her finger. “Pepper’s gonna hate you for that.”</p><p> </p><p>Peggy shrugged as Jarvis acknowledged her new recording. “I’ve a new full time job managing you.” Steve moved forward to kiss her again, but she pushed him back, her finger still in place.</p><p> </p><p>Steve nipped playfully at the pad of her finger when she didn’t move it. “Peg…”</p><p> </p><p>“Jarvis?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Agent Carter?”</p><p> </p><p>She kept her finger on his lips, but sat up on her knees and crawled her way into Steve’s lap, taking his arms with her free hand and wrapping them around her waist one at a time. “Ring all calls for myself and Captain Rogers directly through to voicemail, please.”</p><p> </p><p>“As you wish.”</p><p> </p><p>Peggy finally pulled her finger away, running it over Steve’s chest. “I believe you had something you wanted to do with your lips, Captain?”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>The first day he came home he walked right past Peggy and disappeared into their bathroom. A half-hour later Peggy found him standing in the shower, fully clothed, crying silently with his head pressed into the tile as the water grew cold.</p><p> </p><p>She turned the water off and pulled him out, sitting him on the toilet and stripping him mechanically and swiftly. He let her, not knowing what would come out of his mouth if he opened it.</p><p> </p><p>She wrapped him in a towel then wrapped her arms around him, holding tight until he croaked out a soft, “Thank you.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>When Peggy watched him square his shoulders and leave the next morning she considered, just for a moment, stopping him.</p><p> </p><p>That night, when he came home, he was able to talk about his day, to talk about the big smiles when he handed kids new tablets they could use to video chat their families instead of sharing the one at the nurses station, and the looks of relief on the teens faces when there was someone new to talk to that didn’t have to care about staying a minimum safe distance away.</p><p> </p><p>He tried to tell her about the hugs. The tight, happy hugs of little and big kids alike who had been denied contact for too long for fear their compromised immune systems couldn’t handle event he smallest potential exposure, but the words caught in his throat and she just put her hand on top of his.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>The third day he was out Peggy managed to fill his whole month and was still fielding calls. Hospitals wanted to know when he could come back. She felt overwhelmed, like she was back in ’43 looking at Steve’s scheduled USO appearances.</p><p> </p><p>The phone rang, again, and she tried terribly hard not to sound exasperated when she answered, knowing she’d have to break it to some poor, hopeful administrator that Captain America was booked solid for the month, including weekends.</p><p> </p><p>“Peggy Carter, Avengers Initiative,” she answered, rubbing her forehead.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” the voice on the other end was young, female, and a little timid. “I hope I’m calling the right place. Um, is this where I call to talk to Captain America?”</p><p> </p><p>Peggy could feel her heart break just a little. “I’m sorry, dear, but he’s quite busy right now and not in the office.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I know,” the girl replied quickly, almost tripping over herself to get the words out. “I was just hoping I could leave him a message.”</p><p> </p><p>Peggy propped the phone on her shoulder and searched her desk for a scrap of paper. “Of course. What’s your name?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ainsley,” she replied. “I’m at the group home in Brooklyn he came to yesterday.”</p><p> </p><p>Peggy wrote the girls name, but didn’t wait for the message. With Steve still so quite she had to know. “How was it? I don’t get to go with him when he visits people anymore, so what happened?”</p><p> </p><p>Peggy could almost hear her smile through the phone. “It was really great. He made sure he said hi to everyone, and even remembered our names. He let us ask him a bunch of questions then he asked if he could stay the afternoon. He played catch with some of the boys out back and helped me and Aimee repaint the bunk room for the littlest girls.”</p><p> </p><p>Peggy bit her lip, trying to hold back the well of emotion in her chest. Steve hadn’t said any of that to her, and she could nearly understand why. “Well that’s,” she cleared her throat, “That’s really lovely.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Ainsley replied. “So while he was here yesterday, he mentioned he was leaving to go to a children’s hospital. One of the boys was being a jerk and said that those kids had it good because they had parents that were taking care of them. Captain America, well, he was real nice, but he bent down, and man to man told Joey that some of those kids were dying, and that some of those kids couldn’t see their parents, couldn’t see anyone, cause they were so sick.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no,” Peggy whispered, unsure of where this was going.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, he needed to be put in his place, and sure, he felt bad afterwards, but me and Aimee had an idea.” The girl had been confident talking about her experience, but her voice suddenly turned shy. “That’s… that’s the message, our idea.”</p><p> </p><p>Peggy picked up her pen again, “And what is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, we’re kinda lonely here, with only each other, and… and the Captain said those kids are really lonely, too. What if we could text them, or video call them… kinda like pen pals?” Ainsley rushed through the next section of her explanation. “Maybe they’d want to make friends with us, and wouldn’t be as lonely. We don’t have a lot of friends, either, moving so often, and maybe…”</p><p> </p><p>Peggy smiled into the phone. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Ainsley.” She didn’t even need to write anything down. “Not only will Ste-The Captain want to make that happen, I want to make that happen.”</p><p> </p><p>“You do?” Ainsley asked, semi-shocked that anyone would like her idea.</p><p> </p><p>“Absolutely.”</p><p> </p><p>Later that night, when the doors to the elevator opened, Peggy was standing there waiting for Steve. He barely stepped into their home before she was wrapped around him, sniffing back tears. “You are a wonderful, wonderful man.”</p><p> </p><hr/><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>During the thirteen weeks the Stay-at-Home order was in place, Steve didn’t take a single day off.</p><p> </p><p>He was up and out of bed before Peggy, handing out breakfast at a children’s hospital in Queens before heading down to a group home a borough over to spend the morning drawing with the kids. By lunch he was flipping burgers himself on the grill of a teen halfway house and playing basketball with the kids before heading out to another hospital to help with evening rounds and to distribute stuffed toys to a cancer ward. The next day, he did it all over again.</p><p> </p><p>Some nights he was able to talk about it all. It got easier and easier to tell Peggy about the kids at the group homes and halfway houses, at the shelters and crisis centers who could see him in small groups, who could participate in games and ask him questions about the Avengers. He always stumbled talking about the kids in hospital beds, the ones who had only little wisps of hair left and bruises on their arms from having IVs and injections that got excited just by seeing a face without a mask. But some days he managed those, too.</p><p> </p><p>Without fail, Peggy was there to hand him a warm cup of tea, or a beer, and wrap him in her arms and listen. She hadn’t had to pull him fully dressed out of the shower again, but she did have to force him to eat on occasion, and lull him to sleep at night with nonsensical tales that had nothing to do with viruses or quarantines.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>As the restrictions lifted, Steve didn’t stop. Peggy managed to get him to agree to one day off a week, though, where more often than not he did little more than sleep.</p><p> </p><p>With deliveries dwindling, Barton joined in, helping Steve organize days out in the parks for the kids at the group homes and halfway houses. They held socially distant games like potato sack races, basketball free throw contests, and played giant games of Simon Says while keeping ice cream trucks busy for hours.</p><p> </p><p>Visits to children’s hospitals now included Iron Man, who spent as much time with the kids as he did with the parents and the administrations, making long lists of assistive devices they could provide for the kids and equipment updates that were badly needed to provide the best care available in the hospitals.</p><p> </p><p>Pepper was kept busy by setting up no less than three new Stark foundations for children in need of prosthetics, medical assistance for families, and resources for crisis centers as soon as Tony saw the need not only existed, but was dire.</p><p> </p><p>They never stopped being busy.</p><p> </p><hr/><p>~*~</p><p> </p><p>Peggy was snuggled into Steve’s side on the couch as they watched the evening news, the map of states with outbreaks highlighted though out the south and west.</p><p> </p><p>Tony and Bruce had already started the planning for the expanding of their efforts: subcontracting the thousands on unemployment as delivery people for food and supplies all across the country, distributing tablets and toys via empty suits controlled by Jarvis in dozens of hospitals at a time, and the unveiling of the Caps Calls program where kids and teens could volunteer to be linked up with other kids and teens in children’s hospitals for video calls and texts. Ainsley and her own video chat pal, Emily, were going to be the poster kids for the program. And that meant that Steve’s schedule was already booked, zigzagging across the country to stop in wherever he could.</p><p> </p><p>Steve let his head fall to hers, snuggling down and tying to draw strength from her. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.”</p><p> </p><p>She reached out and thread her fingers through his, holding his hand tight. “As long as we must, my darling.” She kissed his shoulder and held him tighter. “As long as we must.”</p><p> </p>
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